Final Wisdom … A Fuzzy Peaches SOA Fanfiction 1 Prologue Alexander "Tig" Trager paused for just a moment, turning back to the sleeping form in the bed. After the slightest hesitation, where he contemplated the possibility of not being the asshole he usually was, he knelt down next to the mattress, elbows on the edge. Peering into her face, half- hidden by her dark hair spilling over her cheek, he knew it was too late to avoid being an asshole. This was, by far, one of the worst things he'd ever done. And he'd done some fucked-up shit, to be sure. But this … this even gave him a bad taste in his mouth. An asshole. He was such an asshole. He reached out with one hand to carefully slide her hair back around her neck, uncovering that face, so sweet and vulnerable in sleep. He didn't do sweet. He didn't like sweet. He owed it to sweet to just leave it alone and walk away. But he hadn't. God knew he fucking tried, but … the asshole that he was could not be denied. "I'm sorry," he whispered quietly, flinching that she might actually wake and hear it. The he stood, slunk from her room and silently shut the door behind him. Final Wisdom … A Fuzzy Peaches SOA Fanfiction 2 Chapter 1 One year earlier - May Tig scowled at the bright display in front of him. "Go get me gum," Gemma had said. "What kind?" "Just … gum. Doesn't matter." He shook his head. There's a wall of gum. What the fuck did he know from gum? He was going to ask the broad standing next to him, leading her kid down the aisle looking at the opposite side of shelves. But she looked like regular people. In the TM neighbourhood especially he tried not to hassle the regular people. He reached for a peppermint flavour and a fruity bullshit one too, just to cover the bases. As he did, he felt a tug on his wallet chain. He looked down under his outstretched arm. The kid wasn't paying attention to his mom; he was reading a book and absently reaching out, looking for her arm or pocket or purse or something. "You trying to jack my wallet there, Charlie?" he said, loud enough to make the kid jump. Which he did. The kid's glasses nearly fell off as he jerked his hand back, leapt about two feet vertical, then just stared up at Tig as he pushed his goggles back up his nose. His mouth hung open like a goldfish, and Tig spared a moment to feel bad for scaring him. "It's okay kid," he assured him, stepping back and bringing his arm down again. "I'm just messing with 'ya." "Calvin, what are you doing?" the broad pushed past behind Tig to take the kid by the arm. "Try and keep up with me, Peanut. I'm so sorry -" she began, casting a look Tig's way with a smile before her words and face froze. Tig was used to this reaction. Most regular people were scared of him, the broads in particular. Especially the ones with glossy, walnut-brown hair, sharp chin and giant blue-green eyes, who looked like they showered every day and never woke up a place they hadn't intended. Not that he was noticing. "S'okay," he assured her. "He tried to take my wallet, that's all." "Calvin!" she admonished, disproportionately shocked. "No I didn't," the kid was whining. Final Wisdom … A Fuzzy Peaches SOA Fanfiction 3 Tig cracked up, bringing her head around his way again. "I'm kidding. He didn't try to do anything. He thought he was grabbing your purse, I'm sure." Now that he was looking, it was a black one with a chain strap. Honest mistake. She set her jaw, and something in the way her eyes flashed made his cock twitch, just a bit. "Is that what we do for fun? Scare little kids?" A regular broad with a bitchy mouth. He felt himself smile. "I was playing around, baby. That's it." She pulled the kid past him. "Play with someone your own size next time," she muttered, heading for the cash register, the kid staring up at Tig as he was dragged past. "Later, 'ya little klepto," Tig called out, chuckling as the kid pulled his eyes away and double- timed it to get ahead of his mom. He lined up behind them, not even trying to ignore her legs under those shorts, and the curve of her ass and hips. Nice tan. Nice legs. Great ass. Her waist sunk in above it, the lines of her back showing under the tightness of her T-shirt. His hand was itching to grab that hair too but he held back, noticing that the kid was peering around her hip to stare up at him again. Tig smiled at the kid, who darted back into the comfort of mommy's stomach. Tig hoped she was putting him in karate or some shit, otherwise that kid was going getting his clock cleaned every day at school. When she'd paid for her stuff and hustled the rugrat to the door Tig was blatant about watching her the whole way. Those hips swayed like she knew how to use them, and he was pretty damn sure she didn't know how much she was telling with that walk. He felt the clerk staring at him, but he just tossed the gum on the counter, an eye on the door. He could still see her walking with the kid through the parking lot. Tig sniffed, cracking his neck when a tingle flared up along his jaw and back to his spine. It was the tingle he always got when he had a whiff of sweet, and he always fought against it. Always. He didn't need that kind of … Final Wisdom … A Fuzzy Peaches SOA Fanfiction 4 Chapter 2 "Bullshit," Jamie Taylor muttered, looking over her final pay check from the Charming Town Office. It wasn't quite what she'd hoped for. It was a good thing she'd sold her house and moved into this cheap rental. But that final check being so small was really going to impair how she and Calvin could live these next few months. Hopefully it was only a few months. Then she'd have to start looking for a job again. She chewed her nail, running her totals for the umpteenth time. She was going to cancel cable, make Calvin start getting all his books at the library, and there was to be absolutely no eating out. Which stunk. Calvin was eight. He was living without any perks, and that sucked so much for a kid who was already incredibly socially awkward. Every time she told him they'd have to cut back on something he'd just adjust his glasses and shrug. And this wasn't his fault, it was totally hers. Jamie had expected being laid off when she told them about her impending medical treatments. She'd have to keep paying off her medical insurance for this reason, which was a lot of money. And if they didn't cover her she was so beyond screwed. She looked through the dining room window, smiling at the sight of her nephew on a patio lounger, nose buried in a book. He was reading the Hobbit. Again. He was beyond the rest of his grade in reading, comprehension, and mathematics. So smart, in spite of his genes. Jamie's sister Jaclyn had been smart in school, but none of it transferred into life skills. She'd travelled after high school, which was common. Then she wanted to model. Then she was going to act. But first, and foremost, she had to be high 24-7. Jaclyn also had no idea who Calvin's father was. She'd been on a week-long bender, was pretty sure there were about three guys for sure she'd been with, but she wasn't … certain. So whatever disgusting milkshake she'd created managed to produce a healthy, adorable son. She'd gone straight for about a year and a half after he was born. The she was off and wild again. Jamie's parents worried about Calvin as much as she did. They had started a trust fund for him he would inherit at eighteen, and it would pay for college, maybe even a down payment on a house when he was ready for that. It was a relief to know it was there. When her parents died in a car accident three years ago, Jamie hadn't waited. She adopted Calvin immediately. With Jaclyn's drug habit racking up five-digit numbers she didn't want to risk his mother taking away his college fund. And as long as Jamie was Calvin's legal guardian she couldn't. Final Wisdom … A Fuzzy Peaches SOA Fanfiction 5 That had sucked up all her savings and a lot of her inheritance. Jaclyn tried to fight for custody in court, and Jamie knew she had her eye on that cash. It's what made her fight back. She won custody, and life would all be fine if she didn't get sick. Jamie covered her mouth, feeling a sob working its way up her throat. She didn't want to cry, she didn't want Calvin to know how scared she was.